She sat through hundreds of meetings over a dozen years, considered thousands of decisions with an untold number of options. For Jeanne Kubes, it all came down to one foundational premise as she saw it – the good of the community’s public schools, the children attending them and the staff working in them.

Having taken on two tough teams, one the defending state champion and the other a state participant, the New Prague floor hockey team knows it will need to play a little better to return to the top of the mountain.
The Trojans opened the season Jan. 9 with a win over Dakota United, a team they topped at the state tournament a year ago. They fell in the second game, a rematch of the last two state championship games against Burnsville/Farmington/Lakeville. The Trojans won the 2022 game and the Blazing Cats enjoyed revenge in 2023.

New Prague area residents will have three chances to see New Prague High School’s one-act play, “Middle School Dating Game,” all at the high school auditorium. The first performance is Saturday, Jan. 20, then Friday, Jan. 26, and Saturday, Jan. 27. The performances are free and open to the public.

Working for post office was just the right job for Karger
She delivered mail for the last time on a cold Saturday afternoon. She said goodbyes to coworkers, nearly all among her good friends. After 25-plus years on the job, Kelly Karger isn’t a fan of saying goodbye.

Roger J. Novotny, age 82, of Veseli, died Monday, January 15, 2024, after an extended illness at Mayo Clinic Health System Hospital Mankato.  Roger was born on July 19, 1941, in New Prague to Joseph G. and Mary A. (Tupa) Novotny. He graduated from New Prague High School and started out his career at Lindsay Water Softener.  The majority of his life was spent at Metropolitan Mosquito Control.  Roger loved anything that had to do with nature and the outdoors.  In his younger years, he enjoyed fishing and hunting.  He loved nature walks and feeding wildlife and birds.

Wilfred Heine died peacefully at his home on January 14, 2024, at the age of 91 years.
Wil was born on May 24, 1932, in New Prague.  His parents were William and Marie (Bohnsack) Heine.
Wil was baptized at Friedens Lutheran Church, New Prague, the church he attended his whole life. He attended New Prague Public Schools, graduating in 1950.

Mary Ellen Pass, age 85, of Shakopee, MN, entered eternal life on Monday, January 15, 2024, at St. Francis Regional Medical Center in Shakopee.
Mary Ellen was born in New Prague, MN, on April 14, 1938, the daughter of Alfred and Veronica (Deutsch) Hartman, and raised in Saint Benedict.

Catherine Kes, 89, of Jordan, passed away on January 11, 2024. A time of gathering will be held at Ridges Golf Course in Jordan from 4-7 p.m. on January 18. At 7 p.m., there will be a Celebration of Life ceremony held at Ridges. Her Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. John the Baptist in Jordan (313 2nd Street East, Jordan) on Friday, January 19, starting at 11 a.m. Father Neil Bakker will be presiding.  Lunch will follow at Ridges. Prior to the mass, there will be a time of visitation from 10-11 a.m. at St. Johns.

Randolph M. “Randy” Giesen, age 76, of Eagan, died peacefully in the early morning of Friday, January 5, at the VA Hospice in Minneapolis following a battle with pancreatic cancer.  

Arnold C. Sticha, age 80, of Webster, died unexpectedly following a brief illness, on Wednesday, January 10, 2024, at Hennepin County Medical Center.  Arnie was born on March 11, 1943, at the family farm to Charles E. and Angeline M.

Rosemary Tuma (Ruzicka), age 88 of Lonsdale, MN passed away peacefully with family at her side on January 9, 2024. Rosemary was born on April 16, 1935, on the family farm in Wheatland Township to Frank and Anna (Flicek) Ruzicka.  Rosie grew up in Veseli, attending country school and graduating from New Prague High School. Rosie met her husband of 53 years at a dance at Herrmann’s Hall in Lonsdale, they were married on June 24, 1954, at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Veseli. She enjoyed playing cards, fishing, dancing, going to the casino and visiting northern Minnesota.

The New Prague High School wrestlers traveled to Chanhassen High School where the Trojans wrestled 15th ranked AAA Chaska/Chanhassen in the opening round and then faced off against Eden Prairie. In both NPHS had close wins, clipping the wings of the Stormhawks, 31-25, and the Eagles, 36-29. New Prague is scheduled for a tournament at St. Cloud Tech High School, Saturday, Jan. 13. The Trojans have one remaining conference dual with Waconia on Thursday, Jan. 18. For more see an upcoming print edition of The New Prague Times.

Virgil B. Schoenecker, age 96, of New Prague, died peacefully at his home at Praha Village on Wednesday, January 10, 2024.  Virgil was born on August 22, 1927, on the family farm in Belle Plaine Township, to Joseph and Celia (Ruhland) Schoenecker.  He attended the district school in Union Hill.  

New Prague’s gymnastic team hosted the 11th annual Matt Shetka Invitational Saturday, Jan. 6, with nine teams competing.
“The Matt Shetka invite was a great meet. New Prague had two teams of nine competing at the meet,” said head coach Darrell Christenson.
“Our team one took third place overall with a score of 138.3. That's our second highest score of the season so far.”

Shirley Jean Lebo, age 97, of Chaska, MN, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on January 7, 2024.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Friday, January 19, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. with visitation one hour before at Hope Lutheran Church located at 201 Hope Ave. Jordan, MN.  The inurnment will be at Spirit Hill Cemetery in Jordan.

Elvin Leigh Wehking, age 57, of rural Janesville, died in a single vehicle crash on Tuesday, Jan. 9.
    The Le Sueur County Sheriff’s dispatch center received a 911 call at 5:33 p.m. of a vehicle crash near a residence on Tetonka Lake Road in Elysian Township. Le Sueur County Sheriff’s deputies and Elysian Fire and Rescue were initially dispatched to the scene. 
    Sheriff’s deputies noted that a 2003 Ford Taurus, driven by Wehking, had left the roadway, travelled through a ditch and collided with a large tree — which caused extensive front end damage to the vehicle.